A Story of New Beginnings
by IceMaiden
Summary: Hi I'm back... this is small__lady!!! My new name is Ice maiden and my stories are betta than ever.... This story is about Kel and Cleon... Boy meets girl.... they fall in love but one of them die... does love go beyond death?? A real drama!!! MUST READ!!


A STORY OF NEW BEGINNINGS Jessica Huang Normal Jessica Huang 2 35 2001-11-10T09:43:00Z 2001-11-10T09:43:00Z 4 1645 9380 Huang Club 78 18 11519 9.3821 9.35 pt 2 

A STORY OF NEW BEGINNINGS

This is a story of love and hope. What happens if boy meets girl, they fall in love but one of them dies? Does love last even after death?

Kel squinted as the blazing morning light hit her face. She rarely let herself sleep late but this morning was different. She smiled as she remembered the events of last night. Cleon had asked for her hand in marriage. Of course she had accepted. Life was good to her. She had already been a knight for 3 years and all her dreams were being fulfilled. She laid back and gazed up into the top of her tent. Sighing she went back to sleep. 

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"Intruders!" Kel woke up. It was dark outside and she could see small figures running outside. She quickly got dressed. Getting out of her tent she could see it was a mess outside. People were fighting and many tents were on fire. Instinctively she ran towards Cleon's tent. There was nobody inside. Sliding a dagger out of her belt Kel quickly ran into the crowd of struggling bodies. Kel scanned the remaining soldiers and Cleon was nowhere in sight. Right then Kel became terribly aware of the rotting bodies on the ground. Kel fought her way through the crowd until she reached the gate. It was a lost battle. The bandits were too strong. They had hit hard in the night, many of Kel's fellow knights were killed in their sleep. 

A trumpet sounded somewhere in the distance. A group of silhouetted riders rode towards the camping grounds. To Kel's relief Cleon rode with them. Kel raced towards the riders, grabbing a sword along the way. 

"I heard fighting and when I went outside I saw the number of bandits to the number of knights. The results weren't good. I knew we were going to lose if nobody got help so I rode off," Cleon explained when Kel got to him. Kel embraced him and hid her face. She didn't want him to see her cry. She thought she had lost him. She wiped her eyes quickly as Cleon swung her onto his horse. 

"I need to get my horse," Kel informed him. They reached the stables and to Kel's luck all the horses were as they were the last time she checked on them. As she got off she heard a whizzing sound. An arrow shot through Cleon making him fall of his horse. Kel threw her dagger towards the archer and caught him squarely in the chest. She raced towards Cleon. 

"Kel, no," Cleon whispered as she tried desperately to pull the arrow out. 

"You'll die if I don't get it out," Kel cried. Cleon cupped his hands under her chin. His hands were warm. 

"It's poisonous. I'll die anyway. I can already feel the poison spreading through my veins," Kel held him close. This couldn't be it, thought Kel. Her vision from the Ordeal was coming true. 

"I thought our love was going to last forever," Kel cried helplessly.

"Not even death would break us apart," Cleon grinned at her. Kel kissed him for the last time. "You're beautiful," Cleon whispered as Kel felt his breath getting shorter. Kel looked down. He was dead. The light had gone from his eyes.

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It had already been a year since the tragic events that had changed Kel's life forever. Kel was still a knight but instead of traveling with the other knights of the realm she chose to travel alone. On her journeys she fought mainly bandits, seeking revenge for Cleon's death. Although she didn't grieve anymore she still felt his absence. She craved to be with him once more. She could still remember his last words, that their love was strong enough to last even through death. As much as Kel tried to believe what he said, she couldn't. He was gone. 

Country air was good for her. She hadn't been at the palace for half a year already. She knew her friends missed her but she wasn't ready to face them. The sky was a dusty red as the sun prepared itself for its journey home. Kel knew she had to find a good camping spot before it gets dark or there will be more chances of her getting raided. A scream made her stop. Kel turned towards the mountains and saw groups of men with swords and pitchforks racing towards her. There were about twenty of them. She was outnumbered. She quickly turned her horse around and raced back. Being a knight also meant knowing when you wont win.

Kel rode until she saw the silhouette of the nearest village. The pack of bandits was gaining on her. Her head raced. Would her fate be the same as Cleon's? Kel thought. She turned around facing them. She knew she would never get to the town in time so she had to fight by strategy. She might have a chance of escaping during the night. The leader rode towards her. He was well groomed. His hair was in a ponytail and he had a scar down his left cheek. His eyes were cold and distant. 

"I advise you to cooperate with us, knight," He said as he tied her horse to his. Kel rode without talking. The journey back the bandit camp was long. I must have rode far without realizing, Kel thought. The camp was better than most bandit camps Kel had seen before. The tents were made from animals skin and of its habitants had shoes on their feet. The leader sat down around the campfire. Someone behind Kel pushed her to the ground. She turned around and found men looking through her belongings. 

"Now, step forward knight and reveal yourself," The leader mumbles as Kel stumbled forward. She realized that they didn't know she was a girl. The women gasped as she took off her scarf revealing her long hair. "What? A woman?" The leader stared at her with astonishment. "That's a violation against our town law for a woman to dress up as a man would. The punishment is death," The leader informed her. There was a moment of silence before the leader continued. "You are to be sentenced to death unless if anybody in this tribe would speak up on your behalf and take you as their responsibility," the leader looked pleased. "I hereby proclaim..."

"I will father," a young man walked out. Kel looked at him and he looked back. He didn't look a thing like this father. He had warm eyes unlike his father's blue cold eyes. He seems to be around his mid twenties.

"Son I ask you to reconsider. It's disreputable to take a woman as your personal servant," The leader cleared his throat.

"I know but I cannot stand here and watch while you kill a human being," he answered. The leader went red in the face.

"I cannot go back on my word so you can take her," The leader flicked his hands. The young man grinned having achieved something that had embarrassed his father. He walked up to Kel.

"Good day Lady Knight. I am Glen," He bowed. This surprised Kel. Most bandits did not act with the same courtesy that he did.

"I'm Kel," She followed him as he walked to his area of the camp. 

"You can have the mat on the other side of the tent," He pointed to the area next to the flap. Kel smiled at how easy it would be to escape.

Later that night Kel waited until everybody was asleep. She looked over at Glen. He was fast asleep. She got up and crept to the flap. She froze when she felt something sharp at her neck. She turned around. It was Glen.

"I didn't embarrass my father for nothing," Kel mentally punished herself for being so careless. She looked up at him. He didn't seem to be angry it was more amused. She made a face at him and got back into her blankets. There was no point in trying to get away again that night.

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"Wake up sleepy," Kel grinned at the sound.

"Stop it Cleon, I'm too tired," she opened her eyes. It wasn't Cleon. Just Glen. Tears sprang to her eyes. She hadn't thought about Cleon for months.

"Too tired? Unless if you haven't realized it's already 10 in the morning," Kel got up slowly, her eyes absorbing the sight of her surroundings. "I didn't want to wake you up before so I saved you some breakfast," He put a small plate in front of her. There were strips of bacon and what looked like cooked dry peas. It was a typical bandit's breakfast. "Afterwards I was going to go hunting. You can join me if you want," Glen moved around gathering his belongings together. 

After breakfast Kel decided to join him. It was the best way to study her surroundings and maybe even get back to Corus. They mounted their horses and set off into the forest. They were silent until Glen asked:

"Who's Cleon?" Kel was startled by his question. She ignored him. "I mean you were calling me Cleon and I'm just wondering who he is," Seeing her agitation at this confrontation he added "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Kel breathed deeply.

"I loved him. We were engaged to be married," Kel was shocked at what she just said. She had never talked about him to anyone, not even with her friends.

"Where is he now?" Glen asked casually.

"He's dead. He died a year ago," Kel felt tears coming to her eyes but she stopped them. She would not cry especially not in front of a stranger.

"I'm sorry," They continued riding until he started talking again. "Why do you kill bandits Lady Keladry?" Kel was shocked to see that he knew her full name. He sensed this shock and laughed, "Of course I know about you. All bandits have heard of you. That's why most of us try to stay out of your way,"

"But your father didn't know I was a girl and he said that I was to be sentenced to death," Kel stammered.

"My father always makes up his own rules. The people of the tribe don't know all the rules so they believe him," he laughed. Kel gazed at him. She didn't know why she admired this man but she did. "So why do you dislike bandits. You do know that most of us do it because we got thrown off our land by our landowners," He confronted her again.

"It was because they killed Cleon," Kel whispered. Glen turned red.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be asking you," He stammered.

"No I haven't been able to talk about it and now I do want to talk to someone," Kel was shocked by her own words. They stayed silent for a while.

"Why did you love him so much?" Glen asked softly.

"I loved him for a long time. Ever since I was a page he was there. He used to call me stupid names like rosebud and sunshine. Now I only wish I could hear those words again," Kel stopped. She looked down at the griffin brooch he had given her when she was a squire. She had always kept it with her. "He already had an arranged marriage to his mother's friend's daughter but he loved me. He had promised he would ask his mother if he could marry me and he kept that promise. When we finally could be together the bandits took him away from me!" Kel was surprised at her own rage. She jumped off her horse and started running. She did not care where she was going. 

Kel finally stopped when she couldn't run anymore. She sat down on a twisted root crying into her hands. She felt hands wrapping around her. She looked up to see Glen. She pushed him away.

"Why do you even care?" Kel yelled at him. 

"Because you're beautiful," Kel looked up and remembered Cleon's last words _"You're beautiful."_

"Cleon?" Cleon grinned idiotically. Kel pushed Cleon over as he caught her in a breath-taking kiss.

"I told you nothing could break us up,"

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